The Federal Government is set to restrict the importation of vapes for recreational use of vapes following the upcoming federal budget measures.

Under the government’s new rules, this means an importation ban on non-prescription vapes as well as ones with certain flavoured, scented, and high-nicotine cartridges. Vapes will be sold by pharmacies in “pharmaceutical-like” packaging but will be restricted for sales in retail settings.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler, said on Twitter ahead of today’s National Press Club speech that vaping was sold as a therapeutic product, not a recreational product, and “not one targeted to our kids”.

“Young people who vape are three times as likely to take up smoking, and under 25s are the only cohort in the community currently recording an increase in smoking rates. This must end,” he said.

According to the Conversation, Butler also declares, “vaping has become the number one behavioural issue in high schools. And it’s becoming widespread in primary schools.”

The government will also commit to making prescriptions easier to access for therapeutic use like when quitting smoking.

Next week’s budget puts $234 million toward addressing smoking and vaping. Sixty-three million of the budget will go to a public health campaign to discourage vaping and smoking, $30 million to support services to help people quit, and $140 million will go to the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program.

Photo: Vaping by Lindsay Fox available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.